The Third Floor Bedroom
by WinterSummer18
Summary: It all began when someone left the window open...
1. Prologue

It all began when someone left the window open…

Prologue

It really began one cold day in November as I was riding my bike home from school. Ever since kindergarten I've ridden my bike to school and back, at the same time, on the same streets. But on this particular day, something was quite different.

You see, I was heading down Pine Street, then left onto Oak, and was about to turn on my own street when I saw something strange out of the corner of my eye. I almost wrecked when I instinctively turned my head to see what had just flashed by. As I caught my balance, I turned the bike around and realized it was a house. _A house?_ I thought as I slowly started to pedal back down the street._ There are no houses on Oak Street. _But sure enough, there it stood. A rustic, old wooden house, about three stories high. It had these wide-paned old fashioned windows, and only one was opened. _Why would anyone have a window open when it's snowing?_ I watched the long navy blue curtains flow in and out of the window with the breeze.

I turned my head for a moment to see an old car rumble down Pine. When I turned back to the house, the window was shut, just like the rest of them. Something wasn't right here, and I knew it.

I swallowed and realized my mouth was agape. I shut it and started to pedal home. _There was never a house on Oak Street, _I continued to think, looking back a second time and as I turned onto Redwood, _Never._


	2. Chapter 01

Chapter 1

It had stopped snowing before I got to Ben's house.

"Ben! Ben! Answer the door! Ben!" I yelled as I pounded on his door. Finally it opened, but it wasn't Ben.

It was his older brother Everett. I was surprised it was him too. He's usually hibernating upstairs in his room this time of year. He had opened the door pretty quickly, so he must have been waiting for someone. He was even dressed nicely too, like, wearing a shirt and everything. What a weird day.

Everett had dark brown hair like his brother and they looked a lot alike in the face, but the rest of them was everything but the same. Ben was taller than me but way shorter than Everett, with broad shoulders and a whole lot of muscle. Everett was built more like me, only I was skinnier.

He only took one glance at me before he turned around and shouted towards the stairway, "Sterling's here," and then walked away, seeming somewhat disappointed.

In no time he was replaced with Ben, who had come charging down the stairs as if on que, and exchanged expressions with his brother before taking his place in the doorway. "What is it?" He said, almost looking worried.

"Have you ever noticed a house on Oak Street before?"

"No? What are you talking about? There are no houses on Oak Street. There's never been." He said. He stared at me like I'd lost my mind. Perhaps I had.

"Oh yes there is Ben, come on!" I said as I grabbed the front of his shirt and started pulling him toward the street.

"God Sterling, relax! Everett, tell Mom I'm going with Sterling! I'll be back later!" He yelled just before slamming the door.

"Are you out of your mind? Why does this matter?" He started to argue.

"Because there _is_ a house on Oak Street. And you said it yourself, there _aren't _any." I said as I searched the snow for my bike I'd dropped in it. I shook my head in regret. I must have sounded like an idiot.

As I expected, Ben gave me the most twisted look as I picked my bike up off the ground, leaving my backpack in his driveway. I tried to ignore his expression I could see from the corner of my eye. _"What?"_ He said with quite some emphasis. I saw that coming too.

"Just get on your bike Ben."

Ben stared at me for a moment without saying a word before picking his bike up off the driveway and following me down the street.

It was very quiet ride to the place where I'd seen the house. It was during that ride that I started to feel just how cold it really was outside. As my fingers started to numb, I felt myself becoming more and more anxious. What if it wasn't there? What If I dragged Ben out of his house just to prove how crazy I really am and it wouldn't be there? I had only seen the thing once.

When we stopped I could feel myself grinning with satisfaction. There it stood, right before us. I looked at his face, which was not looking at mine, but rather at the tall wooden house. That's when I knew he could see it too.

After a few moments I decided to break the silence.

"See that window up there?" I said, pointing to one on the third story, "That one was open. Why do you suppose a window would be open in November?"

Ben tried not to look impressed. "Maybe whoever lives there isn't cold? I don't know," He said, "Besides, this is stupid. Obviously someone moved over here, built a house, and is now living on Oak Street. I don't see what the big deal is."

I wanted to yell but didn't. Ben didn't understand. The thing looked over a hundred years old. And if that wasn't enough, I've been riding past this street for years now. Ben wouldn't know because he doesn't ride his bike to school and his family hardly ever drives down Oak anyway.

"Look at it Ben. It looks like it's been standing forever."

"Maybe it's just abandoned. Maybe that's why the window was open." He said simply, trying to search for a solution. I knew he knew something was up. Although he did have a point. There was no driveway or mailbox, just a little dirt path leading up to the front porch. It was even a little concealed behind some bushes and a couple small evergreen trees. It was close enough to the road to be noticed if you were walking by, but maybe not if you were riding a bike or driving a car. Maybe I just happened to notice it today. It did show absolutely no signs of life. But I didn't care. I continued to argue back at him.

"And now the window's closed?

"Windows fall Sterling."

"But I would have heard it!"

"Quit yelling at me! You're the one who dragged me over here!"

We would have continued to argue if we hadn't clearly heard the ear-piercing sound that was like nails digging into a chalkboard. I grinded my teeth together and I'm pretty sure Ben did too as we simultaneously looked back at the house. Not a thing looked as if it had changed, but a window. A window on the third floor, the same window that was open before. The same one I pointed out a moment ago. We both shut up and stared at the blue curtains. There was no figure in the window frame.

"Do windows of an abandoned house open on their own too?" I said softly through my tensed-up face.

"No. They don't."


End file.
